


Game Changer

by asoulofstars, MissChrisDaae



Series: The Foster Edition [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awesome Jane Foster, F/M, Female Friendship, Fix-It, Frigga (Marvel) Lives, Gen, Jewish Jane Foster, Magic and Science, Odin's A+ Parenting, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-09-26 07:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17137235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoulofstars/pseuds/asoulofstars, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissChrisDaae/pseuds/MissChrisDaae
Summary: In the aftermath of the Convergence, Jane and Thor return to Earth in search of the scepter, and the Avengers slowly begin to reassemble.Across the cosmos and on Earth itself, enemies begin to gather, enemies that threaten everything the team has ever fought for, and Jane is faced with something just as daunting, but far more personal.Evolving from a mortal to a goddess. From a spectator to a player. From a scientist to a queen.[Fix it: Post: Thor: The Dark World —??]





	1. Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays, you goobers.

The Bifrost hadn’t even finished pulling back when Darcy charged them. “Oh, thank _God_ , I was freaking out that you weren’t coming back!”

“Hey, Darcy,” Jane said, her voice muffled in the hug. “I’m fine. I’m great. Do we have any food left? I’m really hungry.”

“Um, yeah, I think so,” Darcy said, eyes widening behind her glasses as Jane pushed her aside and headed straight for the kitchen. “Did you not feed her in space?” Darcy asked, looking at Thor with furrowed eyebrows.

“Jane is still recovering,” Thor said, watching her open the fridge and grab what looked like an entire block of cheese. She bit into it, then reached over to hug Erik. “I’m just glad that I didn’t lose her.”

“So she really was going to die?” Thor nodded and Darcy whistled. “Well, dodged that bullet.”

“Indeed.” Thor looked back at Jane. He’d promised her that she could be the one to tell everyone about her choice to eat the apple, and he intended to keep that promise, but he worried she would delay that revelation past the point of necessity.

“I’m gonna make coffee. D’you want any?” Darcy started tugging him inside, straight to the kitchen and a gleaming black machine. “You look like you need coffee.”

“I will never refuse coffee,” he said with a smile.

“Atta boy. Oh, my God, I can’t _wait_ to take you to a Starbucks and show you the endless possibilities of lattes. You’re staying long enough for that, right?”

“We’re staying at least until we can find the scepter Loki used in the invasion last year,” Jane answered, returning the cheese to the fridge. “Hopefully, that’ll make it easier to figure out his endgame.”

“Who’s included in this ‘we,’ then?” Darcy asked, accentuating the word with bent fingers before going back to her coffee pot. “Just you two lovebirds? Or do I get to go back to Asgard too?”

“Darce, we don’t have all this mapped out that far.”

“Fine. But you need to call your mom, she’s coming home soon. Apparently, a bunch of nutjobs in Norway have started messing with archaeological sites and hailing Asgard, or something.”

“Is she okay?” Jane asked, opening a cupboard to retrieve mugs.

“She’s fine, Jane,” Erik promised. “She was more concerned about you when we spoke on the phone. We didn’t know what to tell her.”

“I’m still working on that too,” Jane mumbled. “Do we still have milk?”

“SHIELD people cleaned us out. I sent Ian on a grocery run. Thor, do you want him to get Pop-Tarts? I can text him and tell him to get Pop-Tarts.”

“It does not need to be Pop-Tarts,” Thor said with a little smile.

“Good, British Pop-Tarts kinda suck anyway.” Darcy started pouring out the coffee. “Back to your mom, Jane. It’s gonna get a little cramped if we all keep living here.”

“We’ll probably be heading back to the States. Probably New York, if Stark will let us crash in his tower. We can’t afford it otherwise,” Jane said, retrieving a box from the pantry. “You want a cracker?” she asked, holding it out to Thor.

“Thank you,” Thor said and took it, a little surprised she was offering in the first place. She was ravenous, and he wondered if the apple had started to take effect.

“Anyway,” Jane grabbed a bag from the pantry, a blue one with a yellow triangle and the word ‘Doritos’ written across it, “we’ll call Betty, ask if she can get sabbatical from Culver to join us, but if she can’t, we’ll make do.”

“Stop eating Steve!” Darcy shrieked, grabbing the bag from Jane, looking at Thor accusingly. “How much space sex did you guys have to make her this snacky?”

Erik and Jane’s hands went straight to their faces in a simultaneous groan.

“That is a very forward question, Darcy.”

“Hey, I’m racking my brain, and it was the only thing I could think of that made sense,” Darcy said bluntly. “Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary, not to me, anyway. I appreciate the candor. Jane and Erik do not appear to, though.”

“Just tell me SHIELD didn’t take my stuff again while we were in Asgard,” Jane begged.

“Everything’s right where you left it.”

“Thank God.” Jane looked Thor up and down. “So…I think I need to take you shopping. You can’t keep wearing your armor everywhere.”

“I suppose that’s true. We wouldn’t want me to stick out everywhere, as much of this work will need to be discreet.”

“You guys are hunting a magic stick, right, shouldn’t that just be like, a quick call to SHIELD?” Darcy pointed out. “Like, wouldn’t they have confiscated it after you guys won in Manhattan?”

“It does have the same sort of signature as the Tesseract, but, unfortunately, I do not believe SHIELD was able to get the scepter.”

“That, or it’s got some kind of protection that prevents Heimdall from seeing it, and SHIELD’s turning it into the Tesseract two point oh,” Jane added dryly.

“If SHIELD does have it, then that definitely complicates my relationship with them. They gave the Tesseract back for a reason. We cannot have them experimenting on technology that they do not have the equipment or knowledge to accurately maintain.”

“A word of advice,” Erik offered. “They won’t take kindly to you phrasing it that way. It’ll seem condescending.”

“It is the truth,” Thor replied. “ _I_ am not quite sure what powers the Tesseract or the scepter hold, and they are beyond Asgardian scope. I would not trust anyone with them, besides the people here with me.”

“Awww,” Darcy smiled, taking a drink of her coffee. “We love you too.”

Thor smiled back. “You are family, Darcy. One has to trust family.” Erik’s face twitched a little. The name he was thinking about wasn’t spoken aloud, but everyone knew what was happening.

“I think I will have to sit this one out,” he said bluntly. “My last experience with these,” he swallowed, “things has been exhausting. I’m too old for this.”

“Fair enough.” Jane nodded. “Why don’t you guys catch up with Thor? I need to go call someone before the time difference is too big.”

“Jane, the States are all at least five hours behind us.”

“But Korea’s eight hours ahead,” Jane called over her shoulder as she headed up the stairs to her bedroom.

“Korea?” Thor asked, looking after her. “Do you know who she is calling?” he asked Darcy.

“Beats me. I don’t keep track of Jane’s science friends,” Darcy said with a shrug, her eyes moving up and down Thor. “I wonder if Jane would judge me for taking you shopping in the fancy stores. You’ve got a couture kind of body, y’know? Not that you looked bad in jeans and flannel, but you could rock the kind of stuff Tony Stark normally wears.”

Thor chuckled. “Don’t tell Tony that.”

“That would require me to talk to him. He and Pepper Potts just send us a check every now and then. Also, his house got blown up around Christmas, and he’s kind of been on hiatus since then.”

“The soul of tact as ever, Darcy,” Erik remarked.

“What?” Thor asked. “Is everything alright?” Thor knew he didn’t really have a way to keep up with the other Avengers when he was in Asgard, but that didn’t mean that he did not respect and appreciate every one of them. So, hearing that concerned him quite a bit.

“It was crazy! There was like this terrorist guy who was putting a virus into people that made them blow up, and he went after Tony, and the President, but Tony won, and then he got surgery, and now he doesn’t have the arc reactor in his chest anymore, it was a big deal in the papers for like a month,” Darcy explained excitedly.

“That sounds like quite a lot.” Thor ran his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, but I mean, you kind of one-upped him times five. You five-upped him.” Darcy reached out to rub his arm. “I’m really sorry about your dad, b-t-dubs. Jane told us what happened.”

“Thank you, Darcy.” He put his hand over her fingers. “I miss him. He, despite his mistakes, was my father, and...I never thought he would go like that.”

“I’m sure he has gone to Valhalla,” Erik offered. “It’s normal to struggle with this kind of grief.”

“Thank you, Erik.” Thor smiled at the older man. Erik’s knowledge of Asgardian traditions always surprised Thor, but it was comforting to know that someone understood.

“Jane’s mom is gonna be _so_ excited to meet you, you could probably make her a billionaire,” Darcy informed him.

“Ah, yes. Should I be nervous?” Thor chuckled softly.

“Jane and Elise have very similar academic passion, albeit for different subjects,” Erik said with a smile. “She will undoubtedly have a full notebook of questions prepared for you, but you have no reason to be afraid of her. She’s a better driver than Jane.”

Thor let out a hearty laugh at that. “Very good. Thank you for the insight.”

“She’s a nice lady,” Darcy added. “When we got here, she’d left ten frozen dinners in the fridge for us. You’re definitely gonna like her. Oh, and do you wanna talk to any of the reporters? They’ve been badgering us ever since you guys went back to Asgard, there’s probably twenty of them across the street right now.”

“Reporters?”

“Uh, yeah, you guys just saved the world. That gets some media attention,” Darcy explained. “People don’t know what just happened, and they want an explanation. Do you guys not have news in Asgard? Like, town criers or something?”

“We mostly have Fandral.” No secret was ever just a secret if Fandral knew. “Anything important, my father would have proclaimed to the people, and there would generally be a feast accompanying it.”

“Oh, it’s gonna be fun teaching you how to be a modern person.”

“Your technology is antiquated to me.” Thor shrugged. _Modern person_.

“Yes, Mum, everything’s fine, I promise, you have a safe flight,” Jane said, coming down the stairs with a phone in hand. “We’ll see you when you get there, I’ll come pick you up with the intern.” She paused, listening. “I love you too. Bye.” She put the phone down. “So, my mother’s plane leaves in an hour, which means she’ll be in Heathrow in about four hours, tops.”

“Wow, that’s fast,” Darcy remarked. “Kinda weird too.”

“It’s not weird, it’s Europe.”

“They’re interchangeable.”

“Great use of your political science degree there.” Thor chuckled, the banter reminding him of times when he was younger. Jane placed the phone down on the counter and grabbed her jacket. ”You know what, come on, Thor, we’re going shopping alone. We’ll make a date of it.”

“Alright.” Thor held out his arm for her.

“I love it when you get all chivalrous,” she laughed, taking his elbow. “Can you do that thing where you magic the cape away at least? How does the physics of that work, by the way?”

“It just….absorbs into the armor, in a way. It’s not quite a glamour, but something similar.” Thor grinned and glanced back at Darcy and Erik. “Don’t get into trouble without us! Those reporters sound quite bothersome.”

“They’re gonna want to talk to you, not us!” Darcy called as Jane opened the door. There was an immediate rush of clicking sounds and bright white flashes.

“Just ignore them,” Jane warned. “I guess we could get a cab.”

“Would flying be too much?” Thor asked.

“Yes. The point is to attract _less_ attention,” Jane stopped walking and stared at him. “Wait, did you bring your mystical hammer with lightning powers on a _shopping trip?_ ”

“I always bring Mjolnir with me.”

“Thor, I love you,” she said as they started walking again, “but that’s probably the craziest thing I have ever heard. You are not going to need the hammer in a department store.”

“You never know when something could appear, and we do not know if any of Malekith’s forces are left behind.”

“Didn’t you send Einherjar to do cleanup?”

“Yes, I did, but that doesn’t mean that some of his forces could have evaded ours. After all, my father said the Dark Elves were destroyed.”

Jane sighed. She hated it when he had a point. “Okay, but if we get kicked out, it’s on you.”

“Mjolnir will not be in the way at all,” Thor promised.

“No, it’s just that there are generally rules about bringing weapons into stores,” Jane groaned. “Oh, never mind.”

“Do you really think that any store would deny me because of Mjolnir? I’m _Thor_.”

“I’m just saying, you might want to think of it like being a guest,” she offered, trying not to lose her patience. The culture clash was not his fault, after all.

“I’m not going to be waving it about. I would just like to have Mjolnir close by in case something happens. Then I do not have to destroy things to summon it to my side.”

“Oh.” Right. The smashing. That made sense. “Good point.”

“I enjoy when you say that.” He grinned.

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Well, you are the cleverest woman I know. When you tell me that I have made a good point, I know it to be true.”  She blushed.

“You can take me flying later. Right now, we need to be able to see the shop signs, and that can’t be done from overhead.”

“That is very true. I suppose one of these cabs will have to do.” His voice hardened on the word _cabs_ , as he knew that it was probably going to be a cramped vehicle, and he was not looking forward to that.

“Or we could keep walking.”

“I like that suggestion.” He smiled. “Are there any shops you prefer?”

“Debenhams is supposed to be a good department store, but honestly, I don’t go shopping that much,” Jane admitted. “Usually, I just buy stuff online when I need it.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yeah, I just figured you’d want nicer stuff.”

“I also should try things on. Midgardian clothes are much tighter than what I’m used to, and I’d hate for something to be too small.”

“Well, that might be our ticket then,” she said, pointing at a billboard for a Big and Tall shop. “I think you definitely qualify as big and tall.”

“Yes, I believe I do.”

“The sign says a few streets down. We’ll make a right up here,” Jane suggested, indicating the street corner.

“Alright. Lead the way.” Thor grinned.

* * *

“Whoa, that is a lot of bags!” Darcy remarked as they came through the door. “Did you spend all of Tony’s money?”

“I don’t think that’s even possible,” Jane pointed out as she unloaded bags. “I’m just surprised we ended up getting stuff for _me_ too. How did I let you talk me into buying a dress?” she asked, looking at Thor.

“I didn’t have to talk you into it. I said I thought it would look nice and smiled.”

“Sorcery,” Darcy teased. “You’ll have to give us a fashion show later.”

Thor chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

“I meant you, sexiest alien alive.”

“Oh. If I have the time, I can do that for you.” Everyone deserved some stress relief after the past few days--weeks.

“Darcy, _please_ , stop ogling my fiancé. It’s so weird,” Jane begged, separating the bags containing her things from the bags with Thor’s.

Thor couldn’t help the broad grin that spread across his face. _Fiancé_. He liked the sound of that. “Okay,” Darcy raised her hands. “Also, your mom’s plane landed while you were out, so I sent Ian to get her. And I made lasagna for dinner. Jewish-friendly. You’re welcome.”

“Thank you. I know I’m hungry,” Jane looked at Thor. “Are you hungry?”

“Is that even a question? I could _always_ eat. Not as much as Volstagg, but I require a lot of food.”

“Lucky aliens,” Darcy muttered under her breath. “Do you guys even gain weight?”

“I gain muscle.” Thor shrugged. “A lot of food is required to keep up our form, same as Midgardians. However, we burn through much more, so we need to eat much more.”

“Oh, yeah, Helen’s gonna _love_ this,” Jane said with a smile.

“That’s who you were calling?” Erik said, raising an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware you and Helen Cho were in contact.”

“Pepper gave her number to me. And Betty,” Jane explained, before adding for Thor’s benefit, “Betty Ross. She’s a colleague of mine. And a, um, friend of Bruce’s.”

“Friend of Bruce’s?” Thor raised an eyebrow. Just because he wasn’t from Midgard didn’t mean that he didn’t know what Jane’s stumbling implied. “They have a history, yes?”

“Let’s just say her dad likes Bruce about as much as Loki likes me,” Jane said. “Come on, we should get this stuff upstairs before my mother gets back.” Thor grabbed his bags and followed Jane up to her bedroom. “The bed suddenly looks really small, doesn’t it?” Jane asked as she pulled her new dresses out of their bags and started hanging them in the closet.

“I’m sure it will be fine. We can figure things out.”

“There’s a lot to figure out,” she agreed. “I think you might want to wear something new for dinner tonight. My mom’s going to be impressed enough, you don’t need to be wearing your armor too. Also, it always looks a little uncomfortable, but maybe that’s just me.”

He chuckled. “I’m used to it by now. I obviously don’t wear it _all_ the time on Asgard, but it’s been so long since I spent more time out of it than in it, so I really don’t even think about it anymore.”

“Well, if you want, you can shower and-or change,” she pointed to the bathroom. “Right in there.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey.” Jane grabbed him by the wrist and easily pulled him down to her height. “Whoa. That’s new.”

“Perhaps the apple is starting to take effect.” Thor smiled.

“Yeah, maybe,” Jane nodded slowly. “Anyway, I just wanted to do this.” She kissed him softly.

“I love you,” Thor murmured as he pulled back, caressing her cheek with his hand. Jane grabbed his hand and squeezed it, the ring on her finger cool against their touching skin.

“I love you too. But, um,” she wet her lips. “Can you promise me you won’t do like, betrothal negotiations when you meet my mother? I mean, I don’t know how much of her research lines up with your reality, but she was right about the _handsal_ thing, so I just thought I would…” She started blushing. “Sorry. I’m nervous. She hasn’t met a guy since Donald. I mean, there hasn’t been a guy since Donald, but still. I’m babbling. Please, stop me at any time.”

“I promise.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “I’ll make some space for your stuff while you freshen up.”

“Thank you.” Thor kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand before going into the bathroom. Jane pulled open one of her dresser drawers and started moving her flannel to one side so that there could be room for Thor’s shirts. Then she did the same for the pants drawer. And the pajama drawer. In a way, it was kind of surreal. She and Donald had never lived together, there had been maybe one drawer for each of them at their respective apartments. Everything with Thor was different. But it was the good kind of different.

“JANE! YOUR MOM’S BACK!” Darcy shouted from downstairs.

“Already?” Jane blinked. It had only been a few minutes, hadn’t it? “I’m coming!”

“Too much information!” Darcy called back teasingly. Jane rolled her eyes. She didn’t know _what_ had gotten into Darcy lately. Maybe she was just being deliberately dirty to make Jane talk about what had happened in Asgard.

“Thor, how’re you doing in there?” she asked, standing by the edge of the bathroom.

“Almost done!”

“Okay, I’ll be downstairs. I left clothes for you on the bed.”

“Thank you, Jane!”

“Love you,” she murmured again before heading back down the stairs. She reached the bottom just as her mother opened the door. “Hey, Mum.”

“Jane! Oh, darling,” Elise dropped her bag and rushed over to hug her. “It’s so wonderful to see you again. Especially with everything on the news, I was worried sick.”

“Mum, I’m fine. Better than fine.” Thor came down with a towel in his hands, still trying to dry his hair. He’d put on the shirt and jeans Jane had left him, each step deliberate to get the feel of the jeans again. “And this, um, this is Thor. Thor, this is my mother, Dr. Elise Nelson.” Elise’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Nelson.” Thor grinned and draped the towel over his left arm as he held out his right hand.

“Th-the…”

“Mum, breathe,” Jane coached.

“Thepleasureisallmine!” Elise blurted out in an exhale as she grabbed Thor’s forearm. “Oh my. The Eddas do not do you justice.” Darcy snorted. “And you can absolutely call me Elise.”

“Well, thank you, Elise.” Thor nodded his head.

“I have so many questions, but first of all, what on earth happened at Greenwich? The news was very vague.”

Erik interceded, giving her a quick rundown of the Convergence while Darcy retrieved the lasagna. Jane looked at Thor with a small smile. So far, so good. “Jane, you must have been heaven.”

“Aside from the elves out to kill us and the fate of the universe in our hands, and the cosmic force of destruction inside me, I assume you mean,” Jane deadpanned.

“Well, yes, darling, obviously. But your father would have been over the moon to witness such a phenomenon.”

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Jane agreed with a smile. “But it helped that I had a good partner for it.”

“Hey, I worked really hard on this lasagna, can people please come eat it?” Darcy interrupted. “Ian, c’mere, help me dish.”

“Miss Lewis, I really ought to be getting back to my own flat,” Ian protested.

“Are we paying you, or aren’t we?”

“Darcy, let him go home,” Jane groaned. “You’re being a jerk.”

“Fine, you get a reprieve from the future Queen of Space,” Darcy said. “Go on, intern, run along.”

“Thanks, Dr. Foster,” Ian said, heading back out the door with a wave.

“Future Queen of Space?” Elise repeated with a raised eyebrow, looking at Thor.

“It is Jane’s choice, but I would like her to be by my side.” It was a measured answer, as Thor wanted to keep his promise to Jane about not discussing betrothals. Jane silently held up her left hand so her mother could see the ring.

“Oh my goodness!” Elise gasped, pulling Jane’s hand closer so that she could inspect the new piece of jewelry. “Is this dwarven craftsmanship?”

“Yes,” Thor replied. “My sister-by-law’s family.”

“If my research is correct, that’s Ivaldi, yes?” Elise asked, pulling her glasses from the chain around her neck.

“Yes,” Thor said.

“It’s exquisite. I’m very happy for the both of you,” she said, beaming at Jane. “Now, why don’t we see about that very delicious smelling lasagna Darcy was so kind to make?”

“Finally someone who appreciates me,” Darcy said, smirking proudly. “Prepare for your taste buds to be wowed, people.” 

* * *

“Come on.” Jane’s foot bounced as she waited for the video call to connect. “How is he not available?”

“Jane, it’s going to be alright,” Thor soothed, rubbing her shoulders. At that moment, Pepper Potts’ strawberry blonde bangs and blue eyes came into focus.

“Jane! It’s so good to see you, are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” Jane assured her. “Is Tony around?”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “In the lab with Bruce. Again. They’re working on something he calls the Iron Legion.”

“Sounds like Stark,” Jane said with a grin. “Thor, do you know Pepper?”

“We didn’t have the pleasure, I was out of town,” Pepper said with a smile. “Nice to finally meet you, Thor.”

“And to meet you, Pepper,” Thor said with a smile.

“So, what’s up? Are you guys okay? Things looked pretty crazy on the news.”

Jane and Thor exchanged a glance. “Really long story,” Jane said bluntly. “We’d be happy to give you all the details in person. That’s why we were calling.”

“You’re coming back to the States?”

“That’s looking like the plan. Do you think there’s space in the tower for us?”

“Are you going to blow things up?”

Thor shifted and blushed a little, making Jane giggle. “We’ll try not to.”

“Then I think we can squeeze you in.”

“You are a most gracious and generous hostess, Pepper Potts,” Thor’s smile widened to its most charming. “And we shall not violate that trust.”

“Thank you for that, Thor, I think we’re going to get along very well. Jane, send me the details so I know when to have your floor ready, okay?”

“Did you just say floor? We’re getting a whole floor?”

“Exactly how wealthy is Tony?” Thor asked. A floor would still probably be smaller than his wing on Asgard, but for the Midgardians, it was a lot.

“The net worth is twelve-point-four billion,” Pepper said with a smile. “I’ll also make sure there’s space for you in the labs to continue your work.”

“Pepper, you’re a goddamn angel, and Tony doesn’t deserve you.”

“Well, I suppose I know where to look if you ever tire of me.” Thor raised an eyebrow at Jane.

“Shush,” she scolded, smiling softly. “I’ll have Darcy send you our specs. Take care.”

“You too. Bye!” Jane ended the call and looked over at Thor. “So, you were up late with my mother last night. Did she get your whole life story?”

Thor chuckled this time. “Oh, not even close. She is as thorough as you are, and getting the whole story will take time.” He shifted slightly. “It’s difficult to talk about home right now, too. I couldn’t say much about Father.”

“Oh.” Jane’s face fell. “Yeah, I should have given her a heads up about that, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. She has studied my culture for years. It’s natural for her to be curious, and it’s not your fault that she didn’t know. Neither of us mentioned it.”

“Yeah, I guess a lot of stuff happened in not a lot of time,” Jane admitted. “And we’re gonna be moving soon, so that’s more to think about.”

“There is always more to be done, isn’t there? And we’ll have to go back to Asgard soon and converse with my mother, see what the future holds.”

“Not to mention finding the other Stones and me having to get Queen lessons,” Jane sighed dramatically. “I’m suddenly missing the days of me staring up into space, waiting for you.”

“That was not a good time for me.” He’d never quite admitted how hard being away from Jane was, nor how much brooding and pining had been done. “I much prefer being able to be with you, and talk to you.”

“I was kidding _._ ” Jane laughed, shaking her head. “Being apart _sucked_. But it was also simpler.”

“It was,” Thor agreed. “Though, I won’t miss arguing with my father about my duties versus my heart.”

“Yeah, I have to imagine that was exhausting.” Jane took a moment to check her phone, making sure there weren’t any other messages. “So, I think we should stay here long enough for my mom to have five theses on you, and then we can see about going back to New York. I’m sure everyone’s gonna be thrilled to see you again.”

“It will be nice to see them as well. Hopefully, their lives haven’t been as chaotic as Tony’s sounded since we last met.”

“Tony exaggerates to make himself seem more important,” Jane said. “I’m sure he won’t bring any of that up, he’s gonna be more focused on Mjölnir.”

Thor hefted the hammer. “This will be interesting.”

“Interesting in that I plan to get all twelve-point-four billion of his net worth by making bets with him about it,” she said with a smirk. “Which is exactly why I’m not worthy.”

Thor laughed, a deep belly laugh, both at the thought of Jane conning Stark out of all his money, and at the thought that she couldn’t be worthy. He knew that she had it in her, but he was also grateful for her humble nature. “Oh, Jane Foster. Some days I think I cannot love you more, and then you prove me wrong.”

“I love you too, Lord Thunder Britches.”

“This nickname is never going away, is it?” He raised an eyebrow. He could only imagine Sif and The Warriors Three’s responses to their future king being called Lord Thunder Britches.

“Not a chance. You look way too cute when you get frustrated about it.”

“Cute?” he repeated, huffing just a little. “The Prince of Asgard is not _cute_.”

“Oh, yes, he is. That’s part of why I’m marrying him.”

Thor looked down at her, and a smile played at the corners of his lips. “Well, alright, then. I suppose I can accept cute.”

“Damn right you will.”

His smile turned into a smirk. “I enjoy when you get bossy.”

“I’m practicing.” She hooked a finger around the collar of his black v-neck t-shirt. “Maybe next I’ll start using the royal we.”

“Mmm, will you now?”

“Maybe. But right now, I’m more interested affairs that happen in here.” She shut her laptop with her free hand and stood up, still tugging on his collar. “Care to see if we can break my childhood bed before we leave?”

“Mmm.” Thor pulled her close. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Oh, no, it’s a horrible one. But that’s what makes it fun.”

“Why, Jane Foster, I never knew you to be so impulsive.” Thor kissed her.

“Come off it, Thor Odinson, you knew when I drove you to a government site to get your hammer back.”

“This is true. You’ve captivated me from the start. You’re willing to do everything to follow your passions.”

“Thor. You’ve done more than enough foreplay,” Jane huffed, trying to pull him onto the bed. “Come on.”

“You are impatient,” he said, smirking.

“We’ve technically been together for two years. This is way overdue.”

“You are correct.” He kissed her again.

“Bed?”

“Yes.” He picked her up and laid her across the mattress.

“ _Finally._ ”

“I love you, Jane.”

She smirked. “I know.”

 


	2. Settling In

“I’m sorry, how do you pronounce this?”

“Megingjörð,” Jane said without missing a beat. “That’s right, isn’t it, Thor?”

“Your pronunciation is flawless. With your background, I don’t know if there’s anything you can’t pronounce.” He still had a hard time with some of the Midgardian scientific terms, as the letters often looked like they should be sounding in a different way.

“Freaks,” Tony muttered, shaking his head. “Why do you even  _ need _ a magic belt, Point Break? You’re already,” he paused to gesture up and down Thor’s body, “made of muscles.” Thor and Jane exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes before Thor took a breath to explain.

“The Infinity Stones are something that we don’t know much about. I need to be as prepared as possible as we track them down.”

“Tony’s just being dramatic,” Pepper said, walking by with her tablet in hand. “Jane, I think I have everything on your list, but can you check? It’s all by the elevator.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Jane said, moving over towards Pepper and leaving Thor and Tony alone to keep unpacking.

“So, you guys are going treasure hunting?” Tony asked as he examined one of Jane’s duct-taped hard drives.

“I would not call the Infinity Stones treasure. They are extremely dangerous if in the wrong hands, as the Tesseract and Aether have proved individually. Together, who knows what could be done.”

“And your crazy brother is loose somewhere in the universe.”

“Loki is unpredictable, but he is family, and I know that he will do what’s right when he needs to.” Finding Loki was another matter, entirely, though.

Tony frowned, then shrugged it off. “I have exactly zero evidence to corroborate that story, but you’re the one who’s known him for a million years.”

“You know I’m not actually that old, don’t you?”

“I gotta be honest, I have no idea how old you are, and it’s kind of throwing me off because I don’t know what you were or weren’t alive for.”

“I have been around for quite a while by Midgardian standards, though I still don’t quite have a grasp on a lot of Midgardian history.”

“Did you see the fall of the Roman Empire?”

“No, I did not.”

“Well, there goes half my material. Do you at least have a number?” Tony asked, grabbing a silver bag of blueberries and took a few before holding it out to Thor. “So we know how many candles to put on the cake.”

“Around fifteen hundred.” Thor accepted some of the blueberries, popping them into his mouth.

Tony nearly choked on his snack. “We’ll, uh, we’ll just get the number candles. But it’s really not fair, you and Steve are both at least twice my age, and you look younger than me.”

Thor snickered. “Asgardian blood, my friend. It helps a lot.”

“So, you cheat.” Tony huffed, pulling the bag away. “No more snacks for you.”

“It’s not cheating when it is in your DNA.” Thor winked at Jane as she and Pepper returned, bringing a few more cases with them.

“Am I missing something?” Jane asked, setting down her packages and reaching past him to steal the entire bag from Tony, despite the billionaire’s protests.

“Asgardian genes keep me looking young.”

“I hope you’re not going to be that scant about the details when Helen comes to visit,” Jane said dryly, dumping the last of the berries into her mouth and passing the empty bag to the robotic arm so it could be thrown away. “Thanks, DUM-E.” The arm gave her a thumbs-up.

“DUM-E is quite useful,” Thor mused. “Very practical.”

“You’ve never been stuck with him in a lab,” Tony said with an eye roll.

“Only you would complain about something you made,” Jane scoffed, moving to unpack another of the boxes. “I had half of my tech held together with duct tape.”

“I noticed,” Tony said dryly. “And I’m amazed you haven’t blown yourself up.”

“It was quite admirable. Her dedication and tenacity are inspiring.”

“Thor, please, stop, you’re setting Pepper’s expectations way too high, she’ll be wanting me in a cape by the end of the day,” implored Tony.

“A little more effort wouldn’t hurt you, Honey,” Pepper laughed.

“I doubt that we will ever see you in a cape,” Thor said. “You called it my mother’s drapes when we first met, remember?”

“He makes about a thousand quips like that every day, don’t expect him to remember all of them.” Jane giggled at Pepper’s dry remark as the redhead took Tony by the arm. “But you know what, we’ll leave the two of you to get settled in. Just ask JARVIS if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Pepper. You are a gracious host.”

“Tony, I’ll see you down in the lab later?” Jane suggested as she passed Thor a stack of his folded clothes.

“Maybe, yeah. Just give me a call when you’re settled in.” Tony moved his arm to wrap around Pepper’s shoulders as they headed out the door. Jane turned to look at Thor, waggling her eyebrows with a smirk.

“Alone at last.”

“That we are. Do you have any ideas on what we could do?” Thor smirked back, pulling her close.

“Well, there are a lot of boxes, but the bed  _ is _ right there. And we have a whole floor to ourselves.”

Thor kissed her gently, and he picked her up. “What’s the phrase Midgardians use? Breaking it in?”

“That’s the one.” She grinned and kissed his neck. “To be taken metaphorically or literally..”

Thor moaned. “Be careful with me, Jane Foster.” He carried her to the bed.

“I’m still a head shorter than you!”

“You’re vicious!” Thor grinned. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Jane pressed her face into his shoulder. “Enough that I might just be crazy.”

“If anyone is crazy, it is me. I would do anything for you.”

“Oh, don’t say that to me, or the only thing that bed’s going to be used for is marathoning  _ Star Wars _ ,” she laughed.

“Someday, you shall have to show me these movies.”

“Put me down, we’re doing it now.”

“Yes, Doctor.” Thor set her on the bed, just as her cellphone rang in her pocket.

“Aw, come on,” Jane sighed, grabbing the phone. “Hey, B, what’s up?”

“Is this a bad time?” Thor heard the person on the other end of the line ask.

“Kind of.”

“Do you want me to call back?”

“Give us a few hours,” Jane paused, counting on her fingers. “Wait, no, give us the weekend.”

“ _ Star Wars _ ?”

“ _ Star Wars. _ ”

“Bye.” The call ended and Jane tossed the phone over her shoulder, only for it to crash into one of the large glass walls and shatter it.

“Dr. Foster, I really must insist you be more careful,” JARVIS said from above them as Jane’s face flushed scarlet.

“I told you that you could break  _ me _ .” Thor grinned.

“Oh, so you’re made of glass now?”

“Why, yes, can’t you tell?”

“I feel like you’re messing with me.”

“Perhaps.” He smirked. “Shall we put on the movies?”

“Yep.” Jane hopped out of his arms. “Hope you’re ready for a long trip because we’re going to a galaxy far far away.” 

* * *

 

“Wow, I wish Jane had moved us here sooner,” Darcy said, biting into a pot sticker as she sat across the kitchen counter from Thor. “This is way nicer than Betty’s house. Or Dr. Nelson’s.”

“Having a floor to ourselves is nice. The space is much better for all of us, and I don’t feel quite so cramped.”

From Jane’s bathroom, there was a loud shriek, and Jane ran out, pulling her jeans up in a hurry. “Gross, Jane, did you flush?” Darcy asked, pulling the food out of Jane’s reach.

“Darcy, I need you to go to the nearest pharmacy and get me a  _ test _ . Now.”

“Jane?” Thor asked. “What is it?”

“I’m late.” Darcy’s eyes widened and she bolted from her seat, grabbing her coat as she ran out the door.

“Jane, should I be concerned? You seem very anxious.”

Jane looked at him with pursed lips before moving over to wash her hands in the sink. “What is the, um, fertility scene like on Asgard?”

“It is like any other place. Some are more fertile, others less so.”

“Thor. I’m talking about cycles,” Jane sighed. “Look, according to my calendar, right now, I should be having my period, but I’m not, and given the amount of sex we’ve been having, protection or no, the most logical answer is that I’m pregnant.”

“Our cycles are comparable to Midgardians’, I believe, but we also have to remember that you ate the apple. That may or may not have changed how your cycle responds.” Pregnant. Jane could be pregnant. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

“I mean, how long does it normally last for you guys? Because here, it’s roughly one week out of every month, so I need to know if I should be investing in an IUD or something. If that would even work.”

“I do not believe Midgardian contraceptive methods would work anymore, but we can look into it when we go back to Asgard.”

“Thor! I asked a question, can you please answer it?”

“I’m not a woman. I’m not quite sure how long their cycles last.”

“Great!” Jane threw her hands up in frustration, grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl on the counter. “Just great, I could have a little chestburster growing in me right now!”

He decided not to ask what a chestburster was. “Jane, it is not the end of the world. We will work things out, no matter what is happening right now.”

“You’re not the one who’s pregnant! Does Asgard seriously not have sex ed?”

“Jane, I reached sexual maturity hundreds of years ago. Forgive me for not remembering aspects that do not pertain to  _ my _ body.”

“Trying, but most of my energy is focused on freaking out right now!”

“Jane.” Thor reached out for her, but did not touch her, leaving just enough space for her to decide. “I am right here. Just breathe. We’ll figure everything out once we know. We can go back to Asgard if we have to, but we don’t know what exactly is going on right now.”

“I’m back!” Darcy ran in breathlessly, holding out a white plastic bag with a pharmacy logo. “Thank God for self-checkouts and fast elevators. And Tony’s credit card.”

“Did you buy one of every kind?” Jane asked, taking the bag with a raised eyebrow. “Never mind, I’m going to go use every single one of these.” Without another word, she stormed back to her bathroom.

Thor ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled slowly. “What should I be hoping right now?” he asked Darcy.

“Hope that she’s not pregnant,” Darcy said bluntly. “The main reason she’s so freaked is that she is  _ not _ in a parenting mindset right now. I’m not sure if kids were  _ ever _ something she was thinking about.”

Thor nodded. “While I want children, we are not in a place where we are ready for them.” It was the truth. He knew that if she was pregnant, they would make it work, but it would be more practical for them if she wasn’t.

“You’d make an awesome dad. But I think you’d probably be better off starting with, like, a cat or something.”

Thor chuckled. “A cat, hm? Did you know that it was once Asgardian tradition to propose with a cat?”

“Yeah, Jane’s mom talked about the Vikings doing that. Like, gifts on the wedding day or something.”

“Yes, that’s the idea. Perhaps we’ll get a cat someday. I’d like to name her Freyja.” He has definitely thought about the cat.

“Let Jane name the cat.”

“If she wishes to, I will.”

“And ask her before you get it.”

“She doesn’t like surprises,” Thor agreed. “Thank you.”

The toilet flushed and Jane stepped out, looking significantly calmer. “Negative. Every single one. But I still am advocating for better prophylactics.”

“Oh, my god, Jane, just say condoms,” groaned Darcy, grabbing one of her remaining dumplings and stuffing it in her mouth.

“When we go to Asgard next, we shall get something more appropriate for our relationship.”

“I’m coming too, right?” Darcy asked with her mouth full. “I wanna see Fandral.”

“I’m sure Fandral would enjoy seeing you, as well, Darcy, but please keep in mind that he has had his fair share of companions since you last met.”

“No, duh, so have I. I just haven’t gotten to tap it yet, and I want to.”

“You’re disgusting,” Jane muttered, shaking her head.

“I’m sex-positive. I didn’t judge you when you nearly broke your mom’s house.”

“She’s got a very open view. I can’t fault her for that.” Thor shrugged. Jane rolled her eyes and took her phone out of her shirt pocket, dialing someone’s number.

“Are you guys doing training today? Steve’s still in DC, right? Along with Natasha?” Darcy asked.

“Betty’s coming up for the weekend,” Jane answered, covering the edge of her phone. “We were going to work with Bruce. Oh, hey, Helen, this isn’t a bad time, is it?” She walked off, listening to Helen Cho talk.

“Do you know what they’re working on?” Darcy asked Thor.

“Betty and Jane are working with Bruce to develop a way to help with his transformations into the Hulk. Betty was able to communicate with the Hulk in the past, so they are hoping that he remembers her and will allow her to help.”

“You gonna help too? You’re the only one who can beat Bruce up when he Hulks out, right?”

“I am a measure of last resort, yes. Violence is definitely our use-only-if-absolutely-necessary option.”

“Cool.” Darcy nodded. “Wow, I really need to start pulling my weight.”

“Darcy, not many people would run out and get...an unknown amount of pregnancy tests without even truly being asked.” Thor gave her a smile. “You do more than most interns, and you are a true friend.”

“Can I get a promotion when we go to Asgard? I think Lady Darcy has a nice ring to it.” Darcy rubbed her hands together gleefully. “And I can totally lord it over all my friends.”

Thor chuckled. “Yes, Darcy, I’m quite sure most everyone will call you Lady Darcy.”

“I’m just checking. Don’t want to leave anything to chance.” She shrugged and boxed up the remaining dumplings, moving to put them in the refrigerator. “So, if Jane’s not pregnant, how come she’s late? What have you guys not told us?”

Thor shrugged. “Jane will tell you when she is ready.”

“ _ Thoooooooooorrrrrrrr _ .”

“Begging will not change my mind. It is Jane’s story to tell.” He crossed his arms, standing firm.

“Great, then I guess I’ll just resign myself to never knowing.”

“You will know eventually. This is something I don’t think she will keep to herself.”

“Maybe, but she’ll find some way to keep me from finding out. There’ll always be some project that needs her attention. Or she’ll be making out with you.”

Thor chuckled. “Darcy, we’ll tell you. It’s just one of those things that she needs to decide when it’s time.”

Jane returned, pushing back her hair. “Helen’s going to be here tomorrow.”

“Why?” Darcy asked, leaning forward pointedly. “What are you hiding, Jane? Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme!”

Jane looked at Thor warily. “What did you say?”

“Darcy asked why you were late if you weren’t pregnant and assumed we weren’t telling her something, so I told her that it was something that you had to tell her when you were ready.”

“Yeah, I’m never going to be ready.” Jane went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a bottle of wine. “Darcy, when we were on Asgard, I basically signed up for my body getting turned into an Asgardian one. But it’s not instantaneous.”

“Oh.” Darcy blinked slowly. “So, your cycle’s getting longer.”

“I guess so, didn’t you hear my boyfriend’s fifteen hundred years old?”

“How is this my fault?”

“Thor, I did the math. You look about our age, which means it probably takes about forty Earth years to equal one Asgardian year,” Jane said dryly. “If I were  _ actually _ Asgardian, I wouldn’t even be a year old yet.”

“Yet you’re more advanced than some of us.”

“You know I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Your intellect is well beyond the average Midgardian’s, and your way of thinking is one that goes beyond what Midgard or Asgard knows at times. You will be an asset to our realm.”

“Thor.” Jane sighed. “You’re being unbelievably sweet, and I love having my ego stroked, but I’m really not. The fact that a child’s plaything on Asgard is decades ahead of anything I can do is proof of that. Hell,  _ Tony’s  _ ahead of what I can do in places.” She paused and looked up at the ceiling. “Don’t you dare tell him I said that, JARVIS.”

“Very well, Dr. Foster.”

“Maybe not, now that you have proper funding.”

“Jane, quit while you’re ahead, he’s Lord High Emperor of your fan club,” Darcy said bluntly, without looking up from her phone. “Also, following through on your forty-to-one ratio, you’re looking at a period roughly every three years, assuming the correlations hold. But that still has potential drawbacks. Like, maybe it’s a full month.”

“Okay, definitely enough menstrual talk.” Jane made a face before draining the wine. “Seriously.”

“My deepest apologies,  _ hjarta,” _ Thor said sweetly, and she sighed, shaking her head.

“You are lucky you’re so damn cute, Thor Odinson.”

“All the luckier for that I get to call myself yours.”

“Oh, my God,  _ stop _ ,” Darcy gagged. “Before I call the Hallmark Channel.” Thor looked at Jane with a raised eyebrow and Jane just giggled.


End file.
